Of Boomerangs, Badgermoles, Bandits, and Wolftails
by A Voice in the Desert
Summary: It's Tokka Week! Join me in celebrating the shenanigans, sarcasm, and general antics of two of our favorite characters, Sokka and Toph. Finally finishing up with, Ch. 7: Chocolate!
1. Shenanigans

**Alright Tokkaneers, here's my first go at Tokka Week! I hope you all enjoy it!**

**I don't own A:TLA or the characters and don't claim to, so please don't sue me.**

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**Shenanigans**

"What are we going to do?" Sokka moaned restlessly from the couch, "We have to have meat somewhere in this place."

"No meat," came Toph's dejected voice from the floor next to Sokka's head, her feet propped up on the table in front of her.

"No booze," came Sokka's forlorn cry again.

"No booze," Toph dutifully echoed.

"And no girls…"

"And n—" SMACK!

"Owww! Toph, why'd you hit me?" Sokka whined.

"You said there were no girls," Toph explained matter-of-factly.

"I meant besides you," Sokka tried.

"Well what?" Toph retorted, "Am I not good enough for you?"

"No, no, no," Sokka quickly exclaimed, holding up both hands in an ineffectual defense, "You're more than enough for me. I wouldn't—couldn't—want anything more."

"Nice save Snoozles," Toph smiled, rolling her eyes as she grabbed her slightly clueless and absentminded boyfriend by the collar and gave him a quick kiss, "but don't you ever forget it."

Leaning back in her chair, she thoughtfully added, "but what do you want to do tonight? Katara and Aang are out on their date and we're stuck here at home."

"Well," Sokka began thoughtfully, "we could go out drinking…"

Toph just raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"We could spend some quality alone time here…" Sokka offered, his voice trailing off suggestively.

A knowing smirk played at the corner of Toph's mouth, but still she retained her stoic demeanor.

"Or," Sokka decided, "we could go mess with Aang and Katara on their date."

"Finally!" Toph exclaimed, "I thought you'd never suggest it!"

"What?" Sokka asked, "why didn't you just say so if you already knew what you wanted to do?"

"Because then I can tell Katara that it was your idea," Toph deadpanned.

"Hey!" Sokka exclaimed indignantly. "Wh—"

"Quiet Snoozles!" Toph cut him off, "here's what we're going to do…"

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"Are you enjoying yourself?" Aang asked, smiling across the table at his date.

"I am as long as you're here," she responded playfully, eliciting a blush from her boyfriend, "though," she frowned, "I wonder where our waiter is, it's been a while since he took our order."

"I'll go check if you want," Aang offered chivalrously.

"No, no, that's fine," Katara said, laying a hand on his forearm, "I'm sure he'll be here soon."

"Good," Aang smiled, "because I'm hun—" Before Aang was able to finish his sentence, the waiter seemed to materialize in front of their table, stumbling slightly as he approached.

"For you, Madame," he said in an oddly funny attempt at what he seemed to think was a sophisticated, upper-class accent, "the glazed moon-peach salad with a side of stewed sea prunes. And for you sir," he turned to Aang, "the Mega Meaty Special. Enjoy your food." And, with one last hurried smile, the waiter dashed off, almost tripping over another table and bumping into another waitress before disappearing through a set of doors in the back of the restaurant.

Turning back to Katara, Aang's brow furled in confusion,

"Did our waiter have a mustache and a beard before?"

Katara shook her head, as confused as Aang was about their waiter's mysterious actions, "No, I don't think so, though he did seem oddly familiar…"

Shrugging she turned back to her food and was met with a horrifying sight. Apparently, neither Aang nor she had been paying good enough attention when the waiter had brought them their food.

Aang, meanwhile, looked startled and slightly sickened by the mountain of meat that the waiter had set in front of him. Piled high on the plate were a rack of moose-lion and a side of turtle-duck, all wrapped in thick slices of some kind of bacon. The whole plate practically oozed grease, and Aang was beginning to look woozy.

Katara was staring at her equally unappetizing mess of sea-prunes, which, for lack of a better illustration, looked more like squishy brown blobs floating in a pool of grey muck—though, truth be told, Aang would have claimed that was what they usually looked like anyway.

Her salad, on the other hand, at least looked like it had the right ingredients—just not many of them. Someone, in obvious haste, had taken two leaves of lettuce, slapped them on the plate and then, giving no thought to presentation whatsoever, simply thrown a whole, uncut moon-peach in the middle.

"You know what!" Katara fumed, finally breaking the silence, "this is unacceptable! We're paying for a nice dinner and here they are trying to serve us this…this…this garbage. Ma'am," she called, waving to the diminutive waitress with long, raven hair who just happened to be walking past their table at that moment, "this food is, frankly, inedible. Please go get your manager; I would like to have a word with him."

"Right away," the waitress mumbled, averting her face slightly as she hurried away.

"Katara," Aang began slowly from the other side of the table, "are you sure this is necessary? We really don't need to make a fuss. I'm sure we can find something to eat elsewhere."

"Of course it's necessary!" she exclaimed, "I want what I ordered, not this hastily thrown together slop!"

Almost on cue, the waitress suddenly reappeared,

"I'm quite sorry about your orders; we're working to fix them right away." Her voice seemed almost too soothing, almost too conciliatory, "Please have these drinks, they're on the house. The manager will be out shortly to hear your complaints."

Then, in an almost clumsy, hurried motion, the small waitress attempted to set the drinks in front of Katara and Aang.

Setting the first glass down rather abruptly, directly in the middle of Katara's "salad," she reached over to Aang's side of the table to set his down as well. In the process, however, she managed to knock over Katara's glass, spilling the contents squarely in her lap.

Ignoring her customer's surprised exclamations, she finished serving Aang before quickly taking her leave. All of it happened so fast, the shocked couple didn't even have time to say much of anything.

Seeing his girlfriend's predicament, Aang offered his napkin across the table, "Here Katara," he said, "take this."

"Why of all the nerve!" Katara ranted, grabbing the proffered cloth, "It's like she's never served a table before. She's so clumsy, so awkward—it's like she's blind or something!"

"Now Katara," Aang soothed, trying to salvage some of the evening, "I'm sure it was an accident. She's probably just nervous because of who we are. They probably don't serve the avatar and his girlfriend every day."

"Well I don't care!" Katara snapped, slumping back in her seat, "our evening is ruined."

"No it's not," Aang smiled optimistically, "I got to spend the evening with you, and," he said, raising his glass, "we still have one drink."

Quickly taking a sip, he grinned as he handed it over to Katara. The fiery liquid raced down his throat, clearing his head and burning his sinuses. The sudden shock from such a small sip caused him to cough a couple times, eliciting a concerned glance from his date.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

Aang, meanwhile, didn't respond, but sat slightly slumped in his chair, his pulse racing, his pupils dilating,

"Katara," he asked suddenly, "why are you on fire?"

Her eyes widening in surprise, Katara quickly brought the glass to her nose, sniffing it quickly before dashing its contents to the floor.

"Of all the…" she muttered, "who would put cactus juice in your drink?"

Pushing herself away from the table, she was just getting ready to help her currently indisposed boyfriend to his feet when she spotted their waiter and waitress standing in the far corner of the restaurant, watching them closely.

Both their faces were streaked with tears of mirth as they valiantly tried to contain their laughter.

Recognizing the fake beard of her brother and the viridian eyes of his counterpart, Katara's irritated scowl quickly turned into a mask of rage,

"Sokka! Toph!"

Almost instantly, the two figures froze, two miscreants caught in the act.

"Sokka?" the waitress began slowly.

"Yes Toph?" muttered the bearded waiter.

"Run."

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**I'm going to try and stay on top of these and do one a day, but I make no promises =), I will, however, finish these 7 prompts before going back to my longer story, The Wrath of Koh (which is Tokka as well, so you should all check it out too. Just click my profile)...Ok, enough shameless self-promotion =)**

**Thanks for reading, please review and let me know what you think, I really like hearing from everyone and appreciate the feedback!**

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	2. Oblivious

**Hmmm...not quite sure what to make of this one. I think it turned out alright but you'll have to let me know what you think. And thanks again to those of you that reviewed last chapter, I really appreciate it.**

**I don't own A:TLA and don't claim to.**

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Oblivious

It was a good thing Aang didn't have any hair, because if he did, he would have most certainly pulled it all out. As he sat at the table in their small house in Ba Sing Se, he couldn't help but scowl when he looked at _them_. Yes, it was just _them_ now. It wasn't simply Sokka and it wasn't simply Toph, it was _them_.

All they did was argue—one day it was about the weather, the next about what Sokka was wearing (Toph claimed she could tell it looked bad even though she was blind), and the next about what they were going to eat.

They did everything together, they went everywhere together, they argued about everything…together, and yet they still didn't have a clue.

Aang almost wished someone would throw them both in a closet—preferably a wooden one so Toph couldn't get out—and throw away the key. Even Katara had been less than subtly hinting to him that if those two didn't hook up or shut up soon, she was going to go crazy, and the last thing Aang wanted was a crazy girlfriend.

Therefore, he resolved to take matters, for better or for worse, into his own hands.

"Hey you two," he called rather loudly so he could be heard over the presently arguing pair.

"What?!" they both responded in unison.

Aang couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Are you going to say something Twinkletoes?" Toph shot back, "because I've got plenty to tell Snoozles over here about the value of a healthy coating of earth."

As much as Aang couldn't wait to hear Toph's explanation about the values of a "healthy coating of earth," for the ninety fifth time that week, he decided to put an end to it all.

"Will you two be quiet for a moment," he scowled, "you're acting like an old married couple."

He smirked as that comment shut the two of them up fast.

Toph opened her mouth to say something, but this time Sokka cut her off,

"Well what do you want Aang, we've got important business to do today."

Aang didn't even want to know what kind of business that was.

"Look," he began, "I need you guys to go to the market and get some more meat, we're almost out."

"Why do we have to go get it?" Sokka whined, "you've got nothing to do. You go."

"Well," Aang mused, "I suppose Katara could just fix some rice for dinner tonight. We've got plenty of that here."

Jumping to her feet, Toph grabbed Sokka's arm in her firm grasp, "Come on Sokka, let's go. I think I had enough rice to last me a lifetime when we were out camping."

"Right behind you," Sokka called, hastily getting to his feet and following his friend out the door. "We'll be back soon," he hollered over his shoulder as the door slammed shut behind them.

Aang was still smirking when Katara walked in the door a few moments later, a look of confusion on her face, "What's with those two?" She asked, "they almost bowled me over as I was coming up the steps."

"Oh nothing," Aang said innocently, "but I needed them out of the house for bit, and was hoping you would help me with something…"

Aang trailed off, raising an eyebrow suggestively to Katara.

"Oh," she asked, slightly amused, "and what would that be?"

"Well," he began, "let me explain…"

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"Where," Sokka muttered under his breath, "could Aang be? He's been gone for over fifteen minutes now."

The whole situation, even to Sokka, was a tad suspicious, because after he and Toph had—successfully—returned with the requested meat, Aang had immediately suggested that they go on a "guy's night out," and whisked him into his room with all the zeal of Katara when she was shopping for a new outfit. Not to say that Sokka couldn't appreciate a good shopping trip, but there was most certainly a time and place.

They had taken a good amount of time to get ready because Aang had insisted that he wear something nice because they were going to go to a fancy restaurant with a real dress code. Sokka had merely rolled his eyes, he would have much rather gone to a cheaper place with Toph—the food probably would have been better and the conversation most certainly as well.

Slumping back in his chair, Sokka stared idly at the wall, still wondering where Aang could be as his absence stretched to twenty minutes.

Aang, meanwhile, unbeknownst to Sokka, had slipped quietly out of the restaurant and hopped on his glider. On the way back to the house, he passed Katara, giving her a quick wave—their signal that everything was going according to plan.

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Toph was angry—no actually she was quite furious but not sure what to do about it. Upon Sokka and her arrivals at home, Katara had immediately grabbed her by the arm, literally dragging her into her room before she had had a chance to protest.

When she finally got control of herself and demanded to know what was going on, Katara had been very evasive, simply saying that she needed to help her pick out a dress that she could wear tonight.

Katara should have known that there would have to be a good reason—a very good reason—for Toph Bei Fong to ever wear a dress, and frankly, the excuses she was giving weren't going to cut it.

Finally, Toph had been able to pin down through the use of her lie detecting skills that they were going to meet someone, but when she had pressed Katara further, the young waterbender simply lifted her feet off the ground and refused to answer, only saying that she would go with her and that there was someone there that she would like to talk to.

Toph still wasn't sure why she begrudgingly agreed to allow Katara to do this, after all, Sokka and Aang were off having a good time somewhere and she was probably being forced to go to some fancy social event that Katara loved to frequent.

She swore silently to herself that she was going to take every opportunity to give Katara a hard time.

And now, as they approached their destination, Katara's heart beat seemed to speed up, as if she were nervous about something.

"What's wrong Katara?" Toph asked, smirking a little, "you seem a little nervous."

"What?" Katara stuttered, trying to laugh it off, "it's nothing, I'm just fine."

Toph snorted, deciding to let Katara worry about whatever it was that she was worrying about on her own, because frankly, Toph didn't care—especially after she had been dragged all the way over here on a night where she only wanted to relax.

Slowly, she followed Katara through the maze of tables and chairs in what appeared to be a restaurant toward an obvious destination, which, according to the vibrations appeared unoccupied—at least it did until she heard the loud thump of someone's feet landing on the floor after being propped up on the table, followed by a very indignant cry,

"Katara…Toph, what are you doing here?"

_Of all th—_Toph thought.

"Sokka, what a surprise," Katara smiled, trying to play off the entire situation as a coincidence, "well Toph, looks like it's your lucky day, there is someone here who wants to talk to you. You two enjoy yourselves, now. Bye!"

And with that, she left, almost jogging from the restaurant to get away before either of them could respond.

Turning back to Toph, the slightly startled water tribe warrior scratched his head, examining the earthbender in front of him,

"You look nice," he managed.

Toph snorted, turning her head to hide the slight blush creeping onto her face, "Wouldn't know, but thanks anyway. I'm sure you don't look bad yourself." She added after a moment's thought.

Sokka smiled slightly, "So are we going to get them back?"

"Of course," Toph answered, "but first we eat."

Sokka chuckled, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

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"You think it worked?" Aang asked nervously, "I mean it's getting late, and they're not going to be happy when they get back."

Katara opened her mouth to respond when in marched Sokka and Toph, both of them pointedly ignoring the offending pair.

Aang did notice, however, that Sokka's suit was definitely more wrinkled than it had been before, and his hair was strangely a mess. Toph's hair, which had previously done up in an intricate design, was half way down, and it was hard to miss the slight flush in her face.

Marching into the other room, they slammed the door behind them, leaving the two in utter shock. Katara and Aang simply stared at each other,

"Think it worked?" Aang managed.

Katara opened her mouth to respond when Toph stuck her head out the door,

"Oh, by the way, we told the manager we were friends of the avatar and he agreed to put everything on your tab. We told him you'd be by in the morning to pay."

"You did what!?" Katara screeched.

"Oh yeah," Sokka called from inside the room, "and the bill was over three hundred gold pieces."

Aang's eyes almost bugged out at the amount and Katara just collapsed into a chair.

"Those two are so…so…it's like nothing matters except for them. They're…" Katara muttered.

"Obnoxious? Annoying? Frustrating?" Aang offered.

"No," Katara answered, pondering for a moment before finishing with conviction, "oblivious. Those two are completely oblivious to everything and everyone except themselves," and for once, Aang couldn't have agreed more.

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**So that was that, I thought it kind of faded a bit at the end. Anyway, please review and thanks for reading!**


	3. Flame

**Hey all, thanks again to those of you that read and reviewed last time, I really appreciate it! =)**

**This was my first attempt at something angsty (you've been warned) so let me know what you think. I like how it turned out though so hopefully you do too.**

**I don't own A:TLA **

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Flame

Sokka wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to do something—anything—to forget what had just happened.

Violently, he tried to rip his arm out of Aang's comforting grasp, only to be restrained by Zuko's hand as well. He lashed out again, his arm slipping free for a brief moment.

Spinning, he tried to sprint forward toward the nightmare, as if confronting it was the only way to make it go away. But again he was stopped as he found his feet encased in Aang's earthbending.

He turned, his eyes lit by the scene in front of him, flickering with a look of frightened betrayal.

Sokka's feelings quickly turned to anger, his hand hardening into a fist as he wheeled, slamming his hand into Aang's nose, feeling the bones give way, knocking him to the ground as blood streamed from the wound.

He watched in perverse, satisfied silence—as if Aang's pain could somehow bring her back.

He saw Zuko approaching slowly out of the corner of his eye, but he refused to give him the satisfaction of acknowledging his existence, instead turning to glance at what was in front him, almost wishing he hadn't.

Before his eyes was a scene that he knew would haunt him for the rest of his life—and quite possibly long after that as well.

Even from fifty yards, he could still feel the heat, the heat from the burning building, the heat from her blasts, the heat from her body pressed up against him as she shoved him away.

He shook his head, trying to clear the haze that threatened to overtake his mind, all the while allowing his sudden rage to find a new target,

"You!" he yelled, finally twisting to face Zuko, "this is your fault! If you hadn't suggested this crazy scheme, this never would have happened!"

Sokka struggled against his bonds, but only succeeded in losing his balance and falling over onto his hands. Grinding his palms into the ground, he crushed the earth between his fingers, feeling the tiny grains slip through his fingertips—just as her hand had slipped through his.

His eyes peered up to gaze accusingly into Zuko's soft, apologetic stare, boring a hole straight through him as if he wasn't even there—almost daring him to speak.

He held this pose for another moment until he collapsed into another wail, the earth between his fingers a subtle reminder of her—a reminder of everything he had lost.

"Sokka…" Zuko trailed off.

"No!" he bit off, gnashing his teeth as his scowl deepened, "if you hadn't suggested that we go and find your crazy sister, I wouldn't be here and she," he motioned to the still burning building behind him, "wouldn't be in there."

"Sok—"

"No! Damn you Zuko! Don't try to tell me what you feel! Don't even try!" He spat, throwing what little earth was still in his hand in the direction of the Fire Lord. After a moment, his voice suddenly dropped in remembrance of what had just occurred, "You don't know…"

Tentatively bending down, Zuko placed a hand on his shoulder, wary of his friend's outbursts but concerned by the sudden change in his voice, "What don't I know Sokka?"

"She…She pushed me away." He mumbled between tears, "She told me to go, to save myself…"

"Sokka," Zuko soothed, "she pushed you away because she wanted you to live."

"But I could have saved her!" Sokka shouted, his body wracked again by sobs, "she wouldn't let me go back."

"Go back to do what Sokka?" Zuko asked slowly.

Sokka paused a moment to compose himself before answering, "She wouldn't let me go back to save her. She said that Azula had brought the whole building down on top of both them and that she was trapped. She said she wouldn't let me die needlessly."

Zuko didn't say anything but merely squeezed his friends shoulder, allowing silent tears to drip from his eyes as well, slowly welling up, staining his uniform below.

"She..she said, 'Don't be a Meathead for once in your life! Go! Save yourself!' I—I told her I wasn't leaving without her. I was coming back to get her when the building started to collapse…

I can still see the flames flickering in her eyes…the sparks and embers that dotted her hair. She was afraid, but defiant. And just as the roof was beginning to cave—just as I was about to reach her—she turned to me one last time and gave me one of her big, Toph smiles.

Then she hollered something that I didn't catch, but I could tell from the look of relief on her face that it was something she had wanted to say for a long time, and, still smiling she earthbended me from of the building. The last thing I saw was eyes somehow meeting mine as the roof caved in."

"Sokka," Aang said, finally approaching after he had found something for his nose, "you couldn't have done anything else, you barely escaped with your life."

Sokka looked up, meeting Aang's caring gray orbs slowly,

"Sorry about your nose," he mumbled.

A wry chuckle escaped his lips, "Don't worry about it, I'm sure Katara can heal it."

For once Sokka didn't even have a retort for Aang about his relationship with his sister.

Finally feeling strong enough, Sokka stood up, his back complaining and his shoulders straightening as Aang allowed his bindings to fall. He stood in silence for a moment, staring at Toph's funeral pyre, her last stand in a harsh, defiant world.

He thought of all she had been—all they had done together, their narrow escapes and easy friendship that, if Sokka was completely honest with himself, might have grown into something more given time.

He had admired her for who she was, the young woman who, when he had first met, had used sarcasm and wit to cover her insecurities. But now, in the past few months, she had grown more confident with who she had been, she had embraced her life as her own—not some creation of her parents.

And now, as Sokka gazed at the slowly fading flames, he thought it was apt that Toph, whose connection to the Earth was undeniable, would, in the end, return to it. And perhaps, one day, her legacy would be reborn through Sokka's life itself.

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**Hope your Tokka weeks are all going well, please review! (oh, and any thoughts on what Toph said? I had something in mind but thought it better to leave it ambiguous)**


	4. Sneak Attack

**So I had this written a while ago and wasn't sure where to use it, but I think I've found a good place now. Hopefully it's a unique take on this theme, but be warned it's pretty fluffy (lol more so than I really intended). Thanks again to those of you who are reading and reviewing.**

**I don't own nor claim to own avatar.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Sneak Attack**

"Fishing?" Katara asked, her voice both questioning and disapproving of Sokka's suggestion in one breath. "You want to go fishing?"

"Sure," Sokka answered, as if it was the most logical thing in the world. Glancing over at his girlfriend, he added, "and Toph will come with me."

"Hmmm?" Toph asked from the rock she had been leaning against and casually picking her toes. "I'll do what with you Snoozles?"

"You'll come fishing with me," he responded.

"Doesn't she have something better to do?" Katara cut in.

"Like what? Pick her toes?" Sokka shot back, "Besides, we need some meat for dinner tonight."

"Hey," Toph protested, "picking your toes is both a reasonable and logical thing to do when you're bored."

Both Sokka and Katara turned, frowning at the earthbender. Oblivious to their disbelief, she continued, moving on from her right foot to her left.

"Fine!" Katara exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in frustration, "but you don't have to go if you don't want to Toph. Fishing is boring—and it's not like he ever catches anything either."

Sokka turned, a retort forming on his lips, when Toph stood up.

"It's alright, I'll go," she said. "Come on Snoozles."

"Wait, what?" Sokka said, both surprised and pleased that Toph had decided to come with such little protest.

"I said I'll come," she repeated. "Don't make me say it again. And it's not like I'll do anything besides sit here and be bored anyways."

"Ok!" Sokka exclaimed, "now give me a minute to go get the stuff."

Toph half smiled as she heard her boyfriend run off and begin rummaging around in his tent. Sleeping bags were overturned, pots were upended, and even Momo was roused from his mid-afternoon nap before Sokka had found everything he was looking for. Finally satisfied, he called to Toph,

"C'mon Toph, we're going fishing."

"And I hope I don't regret it," Toph muttered, resolutely trailing after the water tribe warrior as they wove their way into the forest, in search a nearby stream.

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"And this, Toph, is called a fishing pole," Sokka instructed, handing her one of the two poles he was carrying.

"Sokka," Toph protested for the umpteenth time, "I don't want to fish. I just want to sit here on this rock and relax."

"But this is relaxing," Sokka objected, "and it's really easy. You don't even need to be able to see—"

"What a relief," Toph grumbled.

Unfazed by her comment, Sokka continued on, "All you need to be able to do is feel when the fish tugs on your line, and then lift the pole up over your head. And then, when you've hooked him—"

"Yea, yea, I get it, Snoozles. Now just give me the pole, and shut up. I'm sure I can manage just fine without any more instruction," Toph sighed.

And so, the two lapsed into a contented silence, Sokka's feet dangling off the rock and trailing in the water below; Toph's just swinging aimlessly, happy to enjoy the moment and the relative peace and quiet.

* * *

After about two hours, Toph was getting tired—and bored. She had managed to be patient for the last thirty minutes for Sokka's sake, who was getting increasingly agitated at his inability to catch anything, but now she was getting fed up with the whole process.

"Here Toph," he called, reaching out a hand, "let me see your pole. I want to change the bait again."

"No Sokka," she snapped, pulling her pole away from him, "you've changed it at least ten times in the last hour. It's not going to work just because you change it again. Maybe they're just not biting today—let's just go back. I'm tired.

Sokka was tired too, but he wasn't ready to give up quite yet, besides, it had been a long time since Toph and he had gotten to spend some time alone together.

"Five more minutes, please?" He begged, "I don't want to eat more rice tonight. I want real food—I want meat."

Toph sighed, as much as she didn't want to admit it, she didn't want another night of Katara's rice either,

"Fine, five minutes," she relented, "but no more. After that I'm going back."

"Thanks Toph, you're the best," Sokka smiled, leaning over and giving her a peck on the cheek, his enthusiasm back at his renewed hope of catching a fish, completely missing the slight blush that was now gracing Toph's cheeks.

As Sokka hummed a random song to himself, Toph drifted off into her own musings. She usually wasn't one for fluffy daydreams, but she couldn't help but smile at Sokka's last comment. She thought of all the times before the conclusion of the war when she had clung to Sokka's every word—or his arm—hoping he would notice her, wishing that somehow she could trade places with Suki.

When the war had ended, the gang still did some travelling together, but she had basically gotten over her crush. She had been content, for the time being, to simply be Sokka's best friend. Everything had changed though when Suki broke up with Sokka.

When she first heard about it, she didn't believe him. She had assumed that those two would be together for a long time. In fact, she wouldn't have been surprised if they had gotten married. When she had asked Sokka what happened, he tried to explain that things had turned out for the best, but it sounded more like he was convincing himself than her.

Regardless, Toph had stood by her friend for the next two months, helping him through the good times and the bad, trying not to reignite the love she had for him, the love that she thought she had given up but had only really buried for the past year. She didn't want that hurt again, but she couldn't help it. She liked him too much.

Perhaps it was true, she mused, that love always finds a way.

Nevertheless, it had been Sokka who had asked her out—it had been him who finally "came to his senses" as he liked to put it; and Toph couldn't have been happier.

Lost in her thoughts, a slight smile on her lips, Toph barely noticed the slight pull on her rod as the tip slowly bent down toward the water. Suddenly, a definite tug bent the rod down, arching it sharply toward the stream.

Simply reacting to the strike, Toph pulled back, perfectly setting the hook by accident.

"Sokka," she called excitedly, forgetting her previous musings, "I think I got one!"

"What?" Sokka asked, slightly perplexed, not realizing what Toph had just said. Looking over at his friend, he saw the tip of rod dancing up and down and occasionally side-to-side.

"Toph!" He exclaimed excitedly, "You've got one! You've got one!"

"Yeah, thanks for the revelation Snoozles," she glared at him. "Now help me. I don't know what to do."

"Well," he teased, crossing his arms, "if you had listened to me earli—"

"Sokka!" she began dangerously.

"Ok, Ok," he conceded, "Now watch what I do."

"Sokka!" Toph yelled.

"Oh right," Sokka mumbled, slapping his forehead. "Ok, when you feel the fish tug really hard, I want you to bring your rod tip down slightly. Let him swim around a bit and tire himself out. When he stops tugging so hard, it means he's getting tired. That also means you need to keep the tip of the rod high and start walking backwards, and when he gets close, I'll net him."

"Right," Toph grunted, concentrating on what Sokka had just told her.

Being blind, fishing was quite an interesting experience for her. She could feel the vibrations of the fish struggling against her hook and fighting against the current. She could almost discern each shake of its head and each flip of its tail as it strove for freedom.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp tug and, pulled off balance, she lurched forward, fighting against both gravity and the force on the other end of the line.

"Sookkkkaaaa!" she called, hoping he wasn't lost in some daydream about eating fish.

Then, just as she was really getting worried, a strong pair of arms grasped her around the waist.

"I've got you," he said, his mouth right next to her ear.

For once Toph was glad Sokka wasn't the slow oaf he normally was, and she was grateful she hadn't ended up in the stream.

But she was having a difficult time concentrating on the fish now that Sokka had grabbed her around the waist and that his head was in such close proximity to hers. It was a feeling she relished—one she enjoyed.

Gradually, she felt the fish lessen its tugging,

"Sokka," she started, reluctant to do anything that change their current position, "I think he's beginning to get tired. I'll try to bring him close so you can net him."

"Ok Toph, but be careful. I don't want to end up fishing you out of the stream too," he teased.

Toph snorted, "Right Snoozles, whatever you say."

Then, slowly but surely, Toph began backing away as Sokka had told her, bringing the fish closer and closer to the rock they had been sitting on. Sokka, meanwhile, was on his stomach, net in hand, tongue out, watching the struggling fish be drawn inexorably closer to his net.

"Ooohh, he's a nice one Toph," he exclaimed when he saw the large, silver oval of the fish appear against the dark bottom. "Just a little closer…a little more…and—"

The fish, seeing Sokka's net, decided to give one last burst for freedom, yanking the pole violently.

Toph let out a small yelp of surprise as the pole shot out of her hands. It whizzed by Sokka's ear, almost hitting his head, and splashed into the shallow water below.

Sokka, meanwhile, barely had time to recognize the brown blur of the pole as it sped by his head. Seeing it splash into the water, he watched in shock as it began to float down the river, finally getting stuck between two rocks a little way downstream.

"Sokka," Toph started, a note of worry entering into her voice, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mea—"

Her attempt at an apology was cut off by a load splash and the sound of someone wading quickly down the stream.

"Sokka?" she called, wondering if her boyfriend was actually stupid enough to jump into the stream for a silly fishing pole. "Sokka, you idiot, get back here, Katara's going to kill you if come back with soaking wet."

The only answer that greeted her was the sound of more splashing, an occasional exclamation, and the sound of labored breathing. Slowly walking over to the edge of the rock, she paced, frustrated that she was able to hear him but not able to feel his location because of the water.

Finally, she heard the splashing return, and Sokka excitedly exclaim,

"Toph come here! Look at this!"

Deciding not to comment about her obvious lack of sight, she crouched down on the rock, her face about level with Sokka's.

Sokka placed the recalcitrant pole up on the rock, still holding the line in his hand. Smiling, he held up their prize, a two foot long, silver and black flecked Mountain Trout.

"Congratulations on your first fish, Toph. It's quite a catch." He said, admiring their prize. "He's going to taste good tonight." Holding the fish up higher, he smirked, "Want to touch him?"

Toph, unsure what to do, tentatively reached out a hand, carefully touching its cold, scaly body with one finger, before withdrawing it quickly, waiting to see what would happen. When the fish didn't even twitch, she reached out again and began running two fingers along its side, trying to get a picture of what it looked like, admiring the grooves of its scales and its soft, web-like fins.

"Sweetness," she breathed, "this is so cool."

"Yeah, I know," Sokka agreed, "now here; hold this so I can get back up on the rock."

Handing the line to Toph, he began to hoist his water logged body out of the stream.

Toph, however, was still examining the fish, when her exploring hand accidentally brushed its eye. The trout suddenly flipped, swinging its tail side to side in one final attempt to escape, catching Toph across the face twice before she was able to swing the line away from her face.

"Aahhh," she exclaimed, "Ick, ick, ick."

She wiped at her face with the sleeve of her shirt, trying in vain to get some of the fish taste out of her mouth, and the slime off her face.

"Here," she grumbled, tossing the fish to the ground, "take it. I don't think I want to hold him anymore. And now," she added as an afterthought, sticking out her tongue, "my mouth taste likes fish."

Sokka chuckled, glad that she had been such a good sport and kept him company, but now; however, he was disappointed to see that their afternoon might end on a down note, and as the sun reflected off the tops of the trees, he couldn't help but notice the slight frown that tugged at the corner of Toph's small mouth.

On impulse he leaned over, abandoning all pretenses, and covered her lips with his for a brief moment. He pulled back, smirking to himself,

"Well," Sokka teased, "that help at all?"

Toph, slightly surprised by Sokka's sudden kiss, quickly regained her composure.

"Hmmm," she pretended, adopting a pensive look, "nope don't think so. You missed a spot."

"Well," Sokka smiled, "we'll have to fix that."

As he leaned down to kiss Toph again, she reached back and grabbed the fish from the ground that Sokka had neglected to pick up. Just as she felt him bend down, she moved the fish in front of her face, causing Sokka to kiss her catch right on its mouth.

"Aaaahhhhh, Toph," Sokka cried out in surprise, rapidly wiping his tongue on the sleeve of his shirt, "why'd you do that?"

Toph, however, couldn't answer because she had collapsed on the ground in a spasm of laughter. Rolling over, she paused for a moment to hear Sokka's stunned silence, before bursting into another fit of uncontrollable mirth.

Sokka shook his head; sometimes he wondered why he liked this girl so much. She wasn't your typical girly girl—though she definitely had the looks—but the way she carried herself, the way she acted, just didn't fit into any group or stereotype.

"Alright Toph," he called, "you've had your fun. Now it's time to head bac—"

Sokka's last word was lost as he tripped over Toph's fishing pole, landing in a heap next to his girlfriend. Toph, who had stopped laughing momentarily, burst into another fit when Sokka tumbled down beside her.

"You know what Snoozles?" she said between laughs, gasping for air each time.

"What?" he asked wryly, even though he knew he was being baited.

"You have got to be the clumsiest person I know," she teased.

"Oh really?" Sokka asked, rolling over onto his stomach to lie next to her. "Makes you wonder why you like me so much, doesn't it?"

"Hmmm," Toph taunted, "No, not really."

"Well," Sokka began, scooting over, placing a small kiss right below Toph's ear. "I know why I like you."

"Why?" Toph asked, valiantly trying to resist Sokka's advances.

"Because," he drew out slowly, trailing kisses down her jaw line.

A small hiss escaped Toph's lips.

"You're…," he trailed off, placing a kiss on her nose.

Finally tired of playing this game, Toph gave in. Grabbing behind Sokka's neck, she pulled him to him and their lips met. One hand reached up into his hair, slowly undoing his ponytail, letting his hair fall down over his face.

Toph's lips worked with Sokka's, their mouths intertwined, oblivious to their surroundings, only caring about each other. Reluctantly, his brain screaming for oxygen, Sokka broke off the kiss, simply staring down at the beautiful girl before him.

"You know," he started, "I bet Katara's wondering where we are."

"So," Toph stated.

"Well, we were supposed to bring back dinner," Sokka reasoned.

"Fine," Toph agreed, "but I want to ask you something first."

"Sure," he shrugged.

"What were you going to…," she paused for a moment, seeming a bit uncertain before deciding—as usual—to simply be direct, "why do you like me?"

"Hmmm," Sokka said, "I was going to say that I liked you because you were so," he paused for effect before tweaking her nose, "cute."

"Sokka!" came Toph's teasing, indignant reply.

Sokka chuckled, "No Toph, what I was really going to say was that I _love_ you for who you are. I _love _you for being Toph—and I wouldn't change a thing."

For once Toph had nothing to say, a blush gracing her cheeks.

"Now come on," Sokka began again, giving her another quick kiss, "let's go."

And gathering up the fishing poles in one hand, he handed the fish to Toph, and hand-in-hand they began walking back to their camp.

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**Ended up being kinda long, but oh well. Hope you liked it. Please review. =)**


	5. Hide and Seek

**Lol, I'm not even sure what to say about this piece, though I promise the next two won't be depressing. This idea changed many times in my head before it went down on paper and it's a little....odd, but hopefully in its oddness it's impactful.**

**Thanks again to those of you that reviewed last time.**

**I don't own A:TLA**

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**Hide and Seek**

Sometimes I don't know what to say. Sometimes I just go run and hide. Sometimes I don't even want to be around you.

Other days I want to be with you so much it hurts. You don't know how many sleepless nights you've cost me, how many hours I've spent daydreaming that, maybe, just maybe, you would look my way instead of hers.

I can't blame you though, I mean, she's everything that I'm not—better looking, funny, tall,—heck, she even thinks before she opens her mouth.

Pfft…if only I wasn't such an idiot…if only I was something more.

See, the problem is, I know I'm an idiot for liking you and yet I can't stop doing it.

I don't begrudge your relationship because it makes you happy. I don't dislike your girlfriend because she's never done anything to me—I would never wish unhappiness on you just for my sake.

But my heart almost makes me wish I would.

You see, every time that I feel your vibrations, every time that you stumble into the room, unannounced, unplanned, my heart sinks. It sinks not because I'm worried, but in anticipation, like I'm paralyzed. There's a part of me that wants to run to you and another that just wishes you'd go away and never come back.

It's a feeling that, when I'm completely honest with myself, I must say I'm addicted to—addicted not because I want to be but because I can't seem to give you up.

There's always a part of me that beams when you casually throw your arm around me, or when you drop a compliment that I want to believe you really mean. But, in the quiet of my heart, I know you really didn't think much of it.

You don't see what you do to me.

Even when we're together, those times when it—finally—is just you and me, I realize that I've changed our relationship in my mind.

You see, I even struggle with the day to day conversations now—not that you would ever notice.

I over analyze everything you say to me, searching for something, anything, to hold on to, even when I know there's nothing there in the first place and everything I come up with is a mere figment of my imagination.

It's amazing what the mind can do to you.

See, that's what is strange about it.

One minute you're in complete control, the next you can't even think straight. It's so frustrating to sit there, finally relaxing, finally at peace, when you pop into my mind.

I want to imagine myself with you but there's a part of me that says that's wrong—that it would somehow tarnish my image of you.

But what am I going to do?

It's not like I can change what I think. This rock hard grasp you may think I have on my emotions, well, it's just a façade. Inside I tie myself into more knots and dig my own grave more often than you could ever imagine.

But that, you see, is the razor's edge of the mind.

I can give the appearance of total control, no one will suspect anything. But inside, I'm a mess, and the mere mention of your name sends me into a tizzy.

Now, you may think that I'm hopeless, insane, or some combination of the two. But I'm here to tell you today that the heart always heals with time, but the mind…the mind carries with it a timelessness that encompasses days, months, and even years.

It is an artifact; a vessel wholly unaffected by one of life's few constants—time.

You see, I know I will always love you, whether it be as a friend or something more. And I can't hate you for something you don't know, even if it is due to your own stupidity.

You see, emotions are a funny thing—they make you think that you have a semblance of control, but then the next moment they leave your life in shambles.

And from these same shambles, I pick myself up—day after day, night after night, because I must, because I will.

For you see, the mind may be a powerful thing, but it's even more dangerous to play hide and seek with your heart….

"_What's that Sokka? You want to me to come with you to the market? Sure, I'll be right there."_

And I'm hopelessly addicted.

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**I'm sure you're wondering how I got to that from the Hide and Seek theme, and quite honestly, I'm not really sure myself. I would though, love to hear from you in a review. Thanks for reading as always!**


	6. Pillow

**Hey guys, so quick, early update today because I am going to be away for the next day and a half (so expect the final chapter sometime on Sunday or maybe Monday depending on how it goes). Anyways, thanks for the earlier reviews, I really appreciate them.**

**I don't own A:TLA....yet =)**

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Pillow

"Mom!"

"Yes dear?"

"Tell me another story tonight."

"Well," the middle aged woman smiled, taking a seat on her young daughter's bed, "why don't you crawl into bed first, then I'll see what I can do."

"Ok!" she exclaimed excitedly, racing out of the bathroom and leaping onto the bed, crashing into the pillows with a shriek of delight.

Quickly settling herself among the sheets, she propped her head up with the pile of pillows and looked at her mother, who had watched the entire proceeding with a wry smile, expectantly.

"Well?" Her mom prompted.

"Tell me about Toph and Sokka," the girl smiled.

The mother grinned knowingly in response, "Again?" She teased, "I told you that one last night."

"Again." She insisted, nodding emphatically.

"Alright," the mother began, smiling at how quickly she had gained her daughter's attention—if only she could do that around dinner time.

"Once, a long time ago," she began, her voice quickly dropping into her "story telling" mode, "before you were born, there were two great warriors, one was an earthbender called the Blind Bandit, the other was a warrior from the Southern Water Tribe, known to his friends as Snoozles, to his enemies as the Great Wolf of the South."

"Toph and Sokka!" exclaimed the small girl from the bed, a huge grin on her face.

"Exactly," the mother nodded, "but at first, neither of them knew each other. Sokka was simply a peasant boy from the Southern Water Tribe while Toph was from a rich, aristocratic family in the Earth Kingdom town of Gaoling.

Sokka was living a rather uneventful life with only his sister and grandmother to keep him company—but one day, everything changed—because on that day they found the Avatar Aang, frozen in an iceberg."

Just as she finished her sentence, the mother watched in wry amusement as her daughter burst into a fit of laughter, her long, dark hair bouncing up and down as she shook with glee.

"The great Avatar Aang," she managed, "in an iceberg?" Collapsing into another round of giggles, her mother joined in as well, letting some of the tensions of the day drain away with her daughter's innocent humor.

Finally composing herself, the mom started again, "Yep," she nodded, still smiling, "and from there they journeyed far and wide, helping the avatar prepare to fight the Fire Lord. Eventually they found their way to the Northern Water Tribe and faced the infamous Admiral Zhao.

There Avatar Aang defeated the Fire Nation leader and continued on, journeying far and wide throughout the Earth Kingdom until he found his way to Omashu. And do you," she asked her daughter, "know who she found there?"

"Toph!" the girl exclaimed.

The mother smiled before shaking her head, "not yet. In Omashu, they found King Bumi, an old friend of the avatar's and they asked him to teach Aang. But Bumi, being the wise king that he was, told Aang he needed to find someone else to teach him.

And so they went to Gaoling, a little down and a little dejected. They searched the town, looking for any earth bending masters, but the only one they found just wasn't quite right.

Deciding to have some fun for a night, Katara, Sokka, and Aang all went to an earthbending tournament, and there, to their amazement," the mother paused for effect, "they saw a strange, small, little blind girl beat challenger after challenger, barely moving a muscle and hardly breaking a sweat.

It was here that Sokka first saw Toph, and he was, admittedly, impressed—not by her beauty but by her fighting prowess. He would later admit, in his candid moments, that it was one of the more impressive displays of fighting he had ever seen.

Well, the gang was convinced that Toph was the earthbending teacher for Aang, but her parents, unfortunately, were not of the same mind. They said Toph couldn't go with the group because she was blind—because she was too fragile."

The mother laughed at her daughter's scowl, knowing how much it frustrated her when she thought her mom was telling her she couldn't do something because she was too young.

"Fortunately," the mother continued, ignoring the scowl for now, "Toph decided to prove them all wrong and went with the group against her parent's wishes." This comment drew a small smirk from the girl but she kept quiet, watching her mother intently, "She quickly established herself as a great earthbender, a tough teacher, and a loyal friend."

"Mom," the daughter cut in, "when do we get to the Toph and Sokka part? I've already learned most of this stuff in school."

Smiling, the woman nodded, "Alright, let's skip ahead two years, after Avatar Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai. Is that good enough for you?"

The girl smiled and nodded, appeased for now.

"Ok," she continued, "about two years after the war Sokka and Toph were travelling together once again. They had each taken some time after the war to see their families, Toph had gone back to see her parents and Sokka was able to spend some time with his father, Hakoda, and his girlfriend, Suki.

After spending a while with the both of them, Sokka decided he was ready to start travelling again; he wasn't ready to settle down and begin a life, like Suki had wanted. This, unfortunately for the warrior, led to their breakup, but they both remained friends for the remainder of their lives.

Regardless, Toph had just turned fifteen, and in celebration, Sokka decided to take her out for a nice dinner so she could escape at least part of the opulent party her parents had thrown for her.

Sokka would later claim that he had intended to ask her out that night all along, but Toph always said otherwise. It was a source of amusement and contention between the two of them for a long while afterwards.

Anyway," the mother continued, marveling at her daughter's suddenly rapt attention, "it was said that night had a full moon that simply bathed the small seaside village in its gentle light. Legend says it was the moon spirit's doing, others say that Sokka finally opened his eyes and noticed what was in front of him. But regardless, it was on that night that he no longer saw Toph simply as his best friend, but for the beautiful woman she was growing up into.

Well, later that night, after dinner, as they walked along the beach, just listening to the water quietly lap against the shore, Sokka did something rather strange—he stopped talking and remained that way for the entire time until he was just about to drop Toph back off at her home.

Toph, who apparently, had been growing increasingly frustrated with her friend's sudden inability to speak, finally decided she'd had enough. She earthbent his feet into the ground and insisted that she tell him what was going on.

As she stood there, hands on her hips, a thinly disguised scowl on her face, Sokka bent down, still unspeaking, and tilted her chin up, kissing her gently. And, as he drew away, he finally broke his silence, whispering a quiet happy birthday in her ear."

Looking up, she noticed a slight smile gracing her daughter's face, as if she herself was experiencing what Toph had that night.

"Now Toph, however, was usually never without a quick retort or sarcastic remark, but Sokka's kiss had literally stunned her speechless. Thankfully for her though, her quarry was still trapped in the earthen greaves she had created earlier.

Deciding to use the situation to her advantage," her mother smirked, "she responded by grabbing Sokka's collar rather roughly and returning the gift he had just given him.

She, however, didn't simply let go of his collar, no, after freeing him from the ground, she dragged him inside, slamming the door behind them."

"So what happened next?" the girl asked, slightly confused.

The mother smiled knowingly, "Nobody's really sure—perhaps they simply talked or shared their feelings, or maybe something more, but regardless the next time they saw Katara and Aang they were officially a couple.

And, about a year later, right after Toph's 16th birthday, they got married in a small, relatively private ceremony in Gaoling."

"And they lived happily ever after?" the girl smiled.

"Oh no!" the mother laughed, "happily ever after only happens in stories. They lived—and were happy—but there were definitely ups and downs in their marriage. No relationship is ever perfect."

"So how'd they do it?" the girl persisted.

"Sokka always claimed it was the meat, while Toph always said it was the sarcasm. So maybe it was a combination of two," the mother laughed.

"Meat and sarcasm," the girl murmured, rolling the words over her tongue as if she was trying them on for size. "I like that," she continued, her eyelids beginning to droop as sleep began to call to her, "meat, sarcasm, and love…perhaps that's all they needed."

"Perhaps," the mother agreed, bending down to give her daughter a kiss on the cheek, "goodnight dear."

"G'night mom."

And as she walked out of the room, the mother glanced back at her daughter's sleeping form. Her pale skin contrasting with her raven hair as the moonlight glistened in her pale green eyes as she slowly shut them. Smiling, her mother could not help but think that somewhere, her long-passed relatives could not have agreed more.

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**Thanks for reading, please review!**


	7. Chocolate

**Ha so I bet you all thought I forgot about finishing this--well I didn't! It just took longer than I expected with life and all. Anyway, thanks to those of you that reviewed the last chapter! And to those of you that have been reading the Wrath of Koh, thanks for being patient, I promise to have the next chapter up really soon.**

**Disclaimed.**

**Enjoy!**

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Chocolate

Sokka had simply been in their bedroom minding his own business and getting ready for the day when he heard her. At first he thought he wasn't sure what it was, but then, as Toph's exclamations grew louder, he began to get suspicious.

If something could put his wife in this sort of mood, he wanted to know about it.

Carefully he poked his head around the doorway and peered out into the hall. Not hearing anything he paused, senses alert for the slightest noise.

Then he it came again—a louder moan that echoed down the hall, this time clearly emanating from the kitchen at its end.

Putting his famed hunting skills to the test, Sokka approached the kitchen like a stalking moose-lion, ready to strike at any moment. Just as he was about to reached his destination, he heard a noise come from behind him,

"Daddy what are you doing?"

Whirling around, Sokka quickly put a finger to his lips, smiling at the small, black haired figure who had been drawn to the doorway of her bedroom by her father's antics,

"Shhh," he whispered, "go back to playing in your room. Daddy is just going to get something from the kitchen."

"But why are you walking like that?" his daughter pressed, amused and slightly bewildered by Sokka's actions.

Sokka smiled, "Because I don't want mommy to hear. You go play now and maybe I'll come back later and show you how to sneak up on her too."

"Ok," she giggled as her little figure retreated back into her room.

Sokka let out a breath, hoping his wife had not heard their little exchange from the kitchen.

Stealthily, he began creeping forward once again until he heard his wife's quiet rustlings from right around the corner.

"Aha!" Sokka yelled as he leapt forward into the kitchen.

Toph, who, as Sokka soon found out, had been sitting on the countertop and therefore not been able to feel him approaching, was so startled by his abrupt entrance that she jerked her head backwards, hitting it loudly on the kitchen cabinets.

"Spirits Sokka!" she exclaimed, angrily rubbing the back of her head, "what are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" he asked incredulously, "I should be asking you what you were doing in here. I could hear you from all the way back in the bedroom. Now," he motioned to the small package that Toph was trying unsuccessfully to hide behind her back, "what is that?"

"What is what?" she shot back.

"Toph," Sokka groaned, looking down at the floor, "you know what I'm talking about it. What's behind your back?"

"Nothing," she mumbled through a now mysteriously full mouth.

"No, you're eating something," he accused, snatching the bag from Toph's unsuspecting hands and dashing its contents on the counter beside him.

"Hey!" Toph exclaimed, "give me that back."

Shuffling through the various items, Sokka laughed, "Chocolate? All this noise was over some chocolate?"

"Yeah…" Toph deadpanned as if it were the most obvious answer in the world, "now give me it back."

"Fine," he answered, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration, "I don't know why you like this stuff anyway."

"What?" Toph asked through another mouthful, "are you on cactus juice again?"

"Nope," Sokka said, "just don't like chocolate."

Toph almost dropped her half-eaten chocolate in shock, "Ho—wha—why?"

"Well," Sokka began, "I don't like it for a variety of reasons. One is because when Katara and I were little, she had a stash of chocolate hidden around the hut that I could never find. So, one day, when I asked her for a piece, she said she would get me one, but I had to close my eyes first. I wasn't sure why, but I heard her go out of the hut to get something, and when she returned, she placed a piece of something in my hand. Apparently it looked a lot like chocolate but it definitely didn't taste like it. As I later learned, through her laughter, she had run out on the ice where the turtle-seals were and instead of chocolate, she grabbed a piec—"

"Enough!" Toph exclaimed, "I don't need any more details."

"And," Sokka continued, ignoring his wife's discomfiture, "there was that time when you were pregnant that you wanted chocolate covered sea-prunes," he shuddered at the memory. "I don't think they'll ever look the same."

"Oh please," Toph retorted, slapping her husband in the stomach as she popped another piece of chocolaty goodness into her mouth, "that definitely wasn't the strangest thing I ate over those months."

"Don't remind me," Sokka grumbled. "Though," he paused, as if pondering the situation, "it was all worth it in the end."

"Says the husband," Toph snorted.

Before Sokka could come up with an adequate retort, the soft pitter-patter of little scampering feet greeted his ears. Putting a finger to his lips—as if Toph could see it anyway—he quietly crept toward the kitchen's entryway.

"Who's there?" He called playfully.

A barely muffled giggle answered his question.

"I hear you," he continued, still edging towards the hall. "And…" he moved closer, "I'm…going…to…get," and on "you" he sprung around the corner, scooping up a little squealing ball of laughter in one smooth movement.

As his suddenly captured charge playfully struggled against his grasp, Sokka couldn't help but smile, "You should've known you couldn't sneak up on Daddy. Daddy is the master hunter of the family."

A loud cough from behind him forced him to amend his earlier statement, "Other than mommy of course."

"So are you going to teach me now?" his daughter asked, her light blue eyes gazing up at him imploringly.

"Teach you what, honey?" Toph asked, her attention momentarily diverted from her chocolate.

"Daddy's going to teach me how to sneak up on you," she smiled, obviously pleased that her mother was interested in what she was doing.

"Oh really?" Toph chuckled as she slid off the countertop, the corner of her mouth twisting upward in amusement, "has daddy ever told you that I can sneak up on him whenever I want?"

The young girl's eyes suddenly grew big, "Really?" she asked.

Sokka ineffectually rolled his eyes at his wife, "I don't remember you sneak—,"

His rebuttal was abruptly cut off as Toph's chocolaty lips covered his, noting not only their sweetness but also her quiet, "I can catch you any time I want," as she drew away.

Meanwhile, the little girl in Sokka's arms burst into a fit of laughter at her father's shock, clapping her hands in amusement.

"You know, Tophie," Sokka teased, using the nickname that usually earned him a punch in the arm, "you missed a spot."

And with that, he bent down once again, running his mouth slowly from one corner of hers to the other, deciding all the while that maybe chocolate didn't taste so bad after all.

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**Hope you all had a great Tokka week and many thanks to Tokkalover for setting this up. All the credit goes to you! =)**


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